Harvest Automation is now offering free robot work. The company will bring robots to your greenhouse or nursery for multiple days to space, consolidate or collect plants to any configuration that meets your production needs.

One company taking advantage of the offer is Flowerwood Nursery.

Over the years, Flowerwood Nursery experienced many of the problems common to operations reliant on manual labor. Spacing plants is one of the most repetitive and physically demanding tasks in a nursery or greenhouse, but it is arguably the most critical. Workers who can move plants at a rate of hundreds of pots per hour for short periods will quickly slow to a fraction of that as the day wears on.

Repeatedly bending and picking up a plant that weighs up to 22 pounds for 8 hours a day under the hot sun not only tires a person, but can lead to debilitating back injuries, lost work days and expensive worker compensation claims. Flowerwood found that it was difficult to both recruit and retain its manual labor workforce. In the critical spring season when both spacing and shipping must be done, there was acute demand on the HR team to find and replace workers.

But this spring was different, thanks to the Harvest Automation HV-100 plant moving robots. Customers that have used the HV-100 to move plants have experienced a reduction in plant moving related injuries and a projected savings in worker’s compensation insurance claims, along with the added benefit of a happier, healthier workforce, leading to fewer lost work days and fewer instances of workers not showing up for work. But just as importantly, all of the work has been completed on time.

“We’re in the middle of our big spring shipping season, and the robots have allowed us to do our spacing on-time,” says Tom Meadows, Flowerwood Production Manager. “We have not pulled one person from shipping to assist with spacing.”

The HV-100 plant moving robots allow growers to do spacing all day long.

“Before robots, there was no way we could do spacing at night,” Meadows says.

Previously it would have been too dangerous for workers to space plants at night with irrigation ditches and pipes that are hard to see even with illumination. Plus, spacing accuracy is difficult under low light conditions.

“The Harvest Automation robots can work night and day with the same level of productivity and accuracy,” Meadows says.

Flowerwood is a third-generation family-owned wholesale nursery selling only to the trade with locations in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Flowerwood provides broadleaf evergreens, conifers, deciduous shrubs, grasses, groundcovers, trees, perennials and seasonal color throughout the Southern and Mid-Atlantic states.

The HV-100 does not rely on the availability of ambient lighting conditions. Its sensors produce their own infrared light and can navigate just as well in darkness. This capability has allowed Flowerwood to extend the workday with double shifts in order to get all of its spring spacing done on time. Ultimately, this has led to higher profit margins with fewer workforce headaches.

For more information about Flowerwood Nursery, Inc. please visit the company’s website.

Contact Harvest Automation sales for more information about its free robot work offer, to arrange an on-site demo or to discuss flexible financing, leasing and short term rental program. Contact Greg Timbol at 978-528-4450 or [email protected]

Dramm is now offering an optional nozzle extension for its line of TracFog PTO-driven fog systems. Meanwhile, the company has also updated its online forum to make it easier to find product solutions quickly.

Equipment manufacturers have recognized a void in the market for machinery that appeals to growers of all sizes and budgets. Here are some affordable options to consider investing in to improve your operation’s efficiency.